Something went wrong. Try again later
    Follow

    L.A. Noire

    Game » consists of 17 releases. Released May 17, 2011

    L.A. Noire is a detective thriller developed by Team Bondi in Australia and published by Rockstar Games.

    craigaa1028's L.A. Noire (Xbox 360) review

    Avatar image for craigaa1028

    A Different Kind of Game for the Rockstar Community

    Open world games themed around crime are not a new concept, but rarely do games with this in mind take the time to delve into the nitty gritty of police work, often devolving from one shoot-out to the next. Team Bondi’s L.A. Noire breaks this trend and has players truly play the role of detective, examining clues, questioning suspects, and making arrests. It’s a methodical game, which rewards through police work with an experience unlike any other and breaks new ground with it’s face capture technology. L.A. Noire takes a lot of risks and stumbles a bit on the execution, but ends up delivering an engrossing adventure through 1940’s Los Angeles.

     Meet Cole Phelps. He really doesn't like crime.
     Meet Cole Phelps. He really doesn't like crime.

    You take on the role of Cole Phelps, a WWII veteran and hero who has recently joined the Los Angeles police force. Phelps is an ambitious, no nonsense cop hoping to prove himself and to rise through the ranks in an effort to clean up the city. He starts off as an average beat cop, but quickly moves up to various detective desks in the department. He’ll start off in traffic but it doesn’t take long until the famous black dahlia murders bump Phelps up to homicide. In the third part of the game, Phelps investigates a narcotics ring in vice and a real estate scheme in arson. Each new desk comes with a new partner who has a unique personality and feelings about Cole, not all of them positive. Throughout the various cases you’ll be treated to frequent flashbacks of Cole’s dark military background and there are newspapers that can be collected that show events happening independent of Cole. All of this ties together in a final act that will surprise, entertain, and satisfy.

    If you go into L.A. Noire expecting constant action or the ability to run around indiscriminately killing anyone you see, you’ll be sorely disappointed. You are a cop after all and you are expected to behave as such. Any collateral damage caused by the end of a case will impact your final ranking, and you cannot pull out your gun unless the game dictates you can do so. That’s not to say you won’t get into your fair share of gunfights and chases, both on foot and in vehicles, but that is not the main focus of L.A. Noire. The majority of what you’ll be doing is investigating crime scenes, collecting clues, and interrogating persons of interest. There will be cases where you don’t fire a single bullet, instead using evidence to bring down a suspect.

    Most cases have the same basic pattern. You and your partner will be sent to the scene of a recent crime. Once there, you’ll search the area for clues using the vibration of the controller as a guide, manipulating what you find with the left analog stick, and inspect any corpses. Using what you collect, you’ll then head to various locations and interrogate people for information, possibly resulting in a chase. Once you’ve got enough evidence, you’ll have to charge a suspect you’ve talked to with the crime. It might seem repetitive, and it can be to a degree, but intrigue and the quality of the interrogations do a lot to distract from this. It never feels like you’re doing busy work or wasting your time and you can opt for your partner to drive you around, acting as the games fast travel system if you don’t feel like driving the large world map. There’s always something available to move you forward since case’s progress in a linear fashion. If you want to take a break from casework, you can drive around the massive recreation of 1940’s Los Angeles and look for collectables, discover landmarks, or respond to one of 40 street crimes that act as quick action set pieces independent of the main story, which should take most players upwards of 20 hours.

    When you do have to engage in combat or a chase sequence, the controls are very simple. When your weapon is drawn, L.A. Noire uses a cover system similar to Grand Theft Auto as well as a very generous auto aim. During hand to hand conflicts, the game uses a simple punch, block, and parry system. When chasing a suspect on foot, all you’ll need to do is hold down the run button and guide Cole as he’ll clear any obstacles automatically. Finally, driving is somewhat arcadey and chases devolve into ramming an opposing vehicle while your partner attempts to shoot out the tires. All the controls during action sequences are easy to grasp and don’t provide much challenge. Should these sequences give you any trouble, the game gives you the option to skip them completely after failing them a few times without any repercussion. That’s because, as previously stated, these action set pieces are not the focus of L.A. Noire, though that’s not to say they aren’t exciting.

     Based on his face, you can tell he was upset his character died so quickly in Lost.
     Based on his face, you can tell he was upset his character died so quickly in Lost.

    Most of what you’ll be doing is the aforementioned clue finding and suspect interrogation and it’s these interrogations that are the real star of the game. The mechanics for these sequences are just as simple as the others, merely asking you to choose one of 3 possibilities. Truth, if you believe a suspect, Doubt, if you think they have something to hide, or Lie, if you believe the suspect is outright lying to you and you have evidence to back up the accusation. What makes this process so in-depth is the faces. Using a new technology called Motion Scan, every single blink, smirk, and wrinkle of the actors performance is captured. You’ll have to watch people as they talk to you and read them to determine how honest they are being. It’s truly remarkable and will captivate you till the very end, although this system isn’t without its faults. There will be times where you’ll be positive someone is lying only to find out your accusation is incorrect or you’ll present a piece of evidence that should work, but doesn’t. These minor annoyances aside, the one on one conversations are truly impressive and L.A. Noire wouldn’t be anywhere near the game it is without them.

    One final gameplay device is intuition points, earned from ranking up, which happens for practically every thing you do. These points can be spent to mark clues at a crime scene, eliminate a wrong choice during an interrogation, or see what other players have chosen as their answer. It’s a small addition that will help those who are at a loss for what to do next.

    It’s impossible to discuss L.A. Noire’s presentation without once again bringing up the quality of the facial animation. It’s truly THAT good and unlike anything seen before in games. Even the smallest detail is captured and helps all the characters feel real. The models from the neck down don’t look quite as impressive, but never distract from the awe-inspiring faces. Hopefully, more developers will adapt this technology for their games.

     Traffic cops sure were strict about failing to yield in the 1940's.
     Traffic cops sure were strict about failing to yield in the 1940's.

    The rest of the package is less impressive visually. The game looks good overall with detailed objects and environments, but scenery drawing in is far too common and texture pop in occurs more than it should. Even with those issues, there’s no denying that L.A. Noire nails the look and feel of the 1940’s. Everything from the cars to the clothing is authentic and sells the atmosphere perfectly. There are occasional frame rate drops, but it never gets in the way of the proceedings. In terms of sound design, the actors give spectacular performances, never sounding unbelievable or forced and the time period soundtrack helps add to the atmosphere.

    L.A. Noire is a refreshing take on the crime genre and games in general. There’s really nothing quite like it. Some may be turned off by how unconventional it is, and other’s may miss the traditional open world freedom. But anyone who’s interested in an engrossing detective story or anyone looking for something different should give L.A. Noire a look.  

      

    Other reviews for L.A. Noire (Xbox 360)

      CSI: Los Angeles 0

      As I continue to work my way through reviewing the substantial pile of games I’ve played this year, this week I find myself encountering another Rockstar Games offering: L.A. Noire. In this interactive crime drama, you accompany detective Cole Phelps he slogs through a morass of dirty cops, corrupt politicians, and mutilated corpses in an attempt to bring order and justice to 1940’s Los Angeles.Design 3 / 5At first glance, L.A. Noire looks like a typical Rockstar Grand-Theft-Auto-style game, in ...

      6 out of 6 found this review helpful.

      Conceptually Intriguing, Strikingly Shallow 0

      LA Noire is more concerned with showing you everything it has to offer than demanding any critical thinking from its players. If you become engrossed in the story and just want to see unfold, this probably won't be an issue, but those looking to solve complex logical puzzles are going to be disappointed.LA Noire does do a lot of things well. The technology on display is wonderful, accurately capturing the details of facial movement to a amazing degree of believability, and the atmospheric qu...

      40 out of 61 found this review helpful.

    This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:

    Beware, you are proposing to add brand new pages to the wiki along with your edits. Make sure this is what you intended. This will likely increase the time it takes for your changes to go live.

    Comment and Save

    Until you earn 1000 points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved.